England fly-half is to resume training this week and should be fit to face
Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham on Saturday April 26

Owen Farrell should be fit for Saracens’ Heineken Cup semi-final against Clermont Auvergne on April 26 after a scan revealed the England fly-half had not sustained any “serious damage” to the foot he injured during the Premiership victory over Northampton Saints on Sunday.

Farrell was withdrawn at half-time during Saracens’ 28-24 victory at Allianz Park and left the ground with his foot encased in a protective boot.

But the club indicated on Tuesday that he was expected to resume training “towards the end of this week”, which will also be a relief to England coach Stuart Lancaster ahead of the tour to New Zealand in June.

“The Saracens and England fly-half sustained a foot injury during the match against Northampton Saints on Sunday, but scans have indicated no serious damage,” said a Saracens statement.

Meanwhile, Christian Wade, the Wasps wing, has been using an “antigravity” treadmill as part of his attempt to return to action in time for England’s tour of New Zealand after undergoing surgery on a foot injury in December.

Wade, who missed the Six Nations campaign after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the autumn internationals, is determined to return before the end of the season and will begin using the ‘AlterG’ treadmill this week to enable him to begin running without putting the full weight on his foot.

“The next stage of my recovery is work on my agility and strength,” Wade said. “If the foot isn’t right I won’t be able to step and run fast so I need to make sure I get it right before I do anything.

“It is important to be cautious and the antigravity treadmill allows me to adjust the body weight as I begin running again this week. It is like being in the pool. You stand in what is effectively a bubble and you can adjust the amount of gravity. You can run on 10 per cent body weight all the way up to 100, which is when you are running normally.”

While Wade is desperate to play again this season, he admits the New Zealand tour may be beyond him.

“We are taking it week by week and if I am ready to go, then hopefully I can get the nod to go,” he added.

“But you also have to look at the bigger picture. You don’t want to go on tour and make it worse and then find yourself being out for another six months. The World Cup has to be my main target.”

London Wasps take on Gloucester Rugby in The Stinger on Saturday at 3:15pm, exclusively live on BT Sport. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.co.uk/wasps